Two French volunteer aid workers have been killed in a Russian drone attack in the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson, French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne said on Friday, confirming reports from the regional governor and other officials.
Posting on social media platform X, Sejourne blamed Russia for targetting civilians in Ukraine and adding that they "will have to answer for its crimes".
Kherson Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said on Thursday via the Telegram messaging app that the Russian attack on the town of Beryslav, on the western bank of the Dnipro River in Kherson, had killed two French nationals and wounded three other foreigners.
French President Emmanuel Macron in a post on X called Thursday's killings a "cowardly and disgraceful act", and expressed his support for all volunteers engaged in helping other nations.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy offered his condolences and wished a speedy recovery to those injured.
"Russian terror knows no boundaries or victims' nationalities. The brave French aid workers assisted people and we will always be grateful for their humanity," he said on X.
French President Emmanuel Macron has named Francois Bayrou his third prime minister of 2024, tasking the veteran centrist with steering the country out of its second major political crisis in the last six months.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Turkey on Thursday for talks focused on establishing stability in Syria after clashes between forces backed by the US and Turkey erupted in the north.
An Israeli strike killed at least 30 Palestinians and wounded 50 others who were sheltering in a post office in central Gaza Strip, bringing the death toll on Thursday in the enclave to 66.
Israelis and Palestinians are signalling new efforts to forge a ceasefire deal, even a limited one, for the first time in a year that would pause the fighting in Gaza and return to Israel some of the hostages still held in the Palestinian enclave.
Outgoing US President Joe Biden said on Thursday he was pardoning 39 people convicted of non-violent crimes and commuting the sentences of nearly 1,500 others who were serving long prison terms.